Shree Minerals Ltd (ASX:SHH) has taken further steps towards re-permitting the Nelson Bay River Iron Project in Tasmania as it works towards a key regulatory approval.
The company has submitted an updated draft development proposal and environmental management plan to Tasmania’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
This comes after the EPA provided feedback on the plan in June following its initial submission in January.
Ultimately, Shree hopes to be in a position where it can formally consider restarting the Nelson Bay iron ore mine after it secures an environmental permit.
Updated plan
Shree’s revised plan includes additional studies, including a process systems engineering plan, a design for mining stages and a trigger action response plan for water discharge.
An independent expert review was also carried out on the draft proposal prior to its submission to the EPA.
As a result of the update, Shree hopes it can advance through the EPA assessment process, as detailed below:
Advancing re-permitting process
As the re-permitting process continues, Shree is focused on developing its iron ore project towards an operations restart amid a robust macro environment for iron ore producers.
This is because iron ore prices, while volatile, are forecast to remain at healthy levels.
Any near-term supply response is expected to be limited, particularly with little latent capacity left at major iron ore exporting ports and railways in Australia.
As iron ore prices remain healthy, there has also been a substantial reduction in discounts for medium-grade iron ore, such as the 58% iron that makes up the company’s DSO product.
In addition, there has been further improvement in premiums for material with lower impurities like low alumina, such as the NBR DSO product, as Chinese authorities continue to emphasise environment control.
Restarting Nelson Bay River Project
Located in far northwest Tasmania, Shree’s Nelson Bay River (NBR) project is within an established mineral province that also hosts Grange Resources’ Savage River Iron Ore asset.
The Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) project at NBR is an all-contract mining, processing and haulage operation using local contractors in the region.
It requires no major processing beyond crushing and screening, after which the ore is trucked to the port and shipped.
It was developed in 2013, with the first shipment of ore leaving the Port of Burnie in January 2014.
However, the NBR project was placed on care and maintenance in June 2014 following sharp iron ore price falls.
With the improvement in the iron ore price since mid-2018, Shree has been actively working to re-permit the NBR.
The ASX-lister’s primary strategy has been to DSO resource production from the existing open pit at NBR.
To resolve legal issues with the existing permit, the company applied for a new Tasmanian environmental permit covering the DSO operations.
After a public consultation in November 2018, the EPA issued guidelines for the preparation of a development proposal and environmental management plan.
As it works to adopt this framework, Shree has completed the requisite technical studies to develop a draft of the plan.